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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · kid · kick · mate · tube · hide · stand · game

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — a friend
  3. net — in sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. mate — a partner
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mate — to breed
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. net — for catching
  17. kick — in football
  18. game — a match
  19. net — after costs
  20. stand — to bear
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com